Tergat became the sixth Kenyan to hold the 10,000m World Record when he clocked 26:27.85 on August 22, 1997 in Brussels, Belgium, breaking Gebrselassie's previous time of 26:31.32 set on July 4, 1997 in Oslo, Norway. Junxia had won the World 10,000m title a month earlier in Stuttgart and went on to win the Olympic 5,000m title at 1996 Atlanta Games. PHOTO | JEWEL SAMAD | AFPThe women’s 10,000m race was first held at the 1987 Rome World Championships with Norwegian Ingrid Kristiansen winning the race in 31:05.85. Perhaps the women’s 2016 Rio 10,000m race is historical. Once again Gebrselassie and Tergat’s thrillers highlight the world championships where the Kenyan settled for silver medals in Athens and Seville respectively.

Source: Daily Nation February 14, 2019 03:11 UTC